FIRST RIDES BMW R1200GSA + R nineT + R1200RT

new LOOK

DIY SECTION BANISH FUELLING GREMLINS TO REVITALISE YOUR BIKE + WINTER PROJECTS

FULL UK ROAD TEST

KawasakiZ1000SXOur toughest ever test: touring, commuting, two-up, B-roads

CBR600, ZX-6R, VFR800, BANDIT...

Finding, buying and riding 2014's best-value used motorcycles PLUS Great kit for under £100

15 BRILLIANT£1500 BARGAINS

TRAVEL SECTION

HIDDEN FRANCEDodge the crowds on our awesome long weekendPLUS Brilliant Devon day trip

April 2014 £4.10

A '97 VTR for £1499? We show you how

IN-DEPTH USED GUIDE

TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE

How to buy today's coolest retro from £4k

new

new

new

new

| APRIL 2014

BMW R1200RTThe world’s favourite air-cooled touring bike gets a stronger and smoother water-cooled engine. And a handbrake

BY SIMON WEIR

WHEN YOU MAKE what most owners consider to be the perfect touring bike, updating it can’t be

easy. The BMW R1200RT has topped the RiDER Power owner-satisfaction survey pretty much every other year since it was introduced and has never been outside the top five. BMW know how well-liked the model is. “We have produced an RT since 1978,” explains project manager Raimund Brandl. “The number one job was to keep the character of the RT.”

So much of that personality came from the boxer engine, delivering just the right amount of power just where it’s needed – always with a side order of rattly air-cooled character. Replacing it with the water-cooled unit debuted in the 2013 R1200GS meant changing the character of the bike slightly – as well as the frame, the suspension, the bodywork, the screen, the clocks, the headlights… you get the picture.

There’s a new look: pointed and purposeful, with double LED daytime running lights – the BMW “eyes” first borrowed from cars for the K1600s (though there’s no tilting dip-beam option on the RT). The mirrors are smaller, but show more of the road behind and less of your hands. The stepless electronic screen has been reshaped, to give better protection to both rider and pillion, it’s claimed. There are two lockable cubbyholes in the fairing.

From the moment you climb aboard, it still feels like an RT – though the standard seat has been lowered slightly from 820/840mm to 805/825mm. As I’m 6ft 5in, that’s right on the cusp of being a big too low for me even in its high position… but optional seats give 830/850mm and 760/780mm options. The bars and footpegs have also been lowered 20mm (as have the pillion seat and pegs) so there’s actually a little more legroom than before.

The big change is the engine: smoother and less rattly than before. Blip the throttle and it doesn’t lean to the left. It’s powerful

Headlights like theK1600 and an engine like the GS, but the R1200RT still has its own character

First RIDES

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APRIL 2014 |

IN APRIL'S FIRST RIDES SECTIONBMW R nineT . . . . . . . . . . .32BMW R1200GSA . . . . . . . .34Kawasaki J300 . . . . . . . . . .36And coming up in the May issueDucati Monster 1200Yamaha MT-07Honda NC750

With more legroom and an improved screen the

R1200RT is more comfortablefor both rider and pillion

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| APRIL 2014

BY STUART BARKER

I F YOU THINK that any bike costing less than £1500 is bound to be a pile of rusty junk ready to fall apart within a few miles, you’d be wrong.

It’s perfectly possible to buy a good, solid, well-maintained machine that offers decent performance for that kind of money, as long as you follow certain basic guidelines and adjust your expectations.

If you know what kind of bikes to look for, know how to check a dealer's forecourt, search online and make sure you view and inspect any bike before bidding for or buying it, then there’s no reason why you can’t get an awful lot of bike for very little money.

How to spot a bargainOnce you’ve found a bike of interest you should arrange with the seller to view it before you start bidding or part with any cash. This is where distance becomes important. You don’t want to travel 500 miles to view a bike that may turn out to be a disappointment, so make sure you refine your initial search to a distance you’re happy to travel (say, within 100 miles). Get as much detailed information from the seller as possible before you even think about travelling so you can rule out bikes that aren’t right for you.

It’s very rare you’ll get the opportunity to test ride a bike that’s up for private sale. Insurance can often be a problem,

£1500 bargains

How to buy a brilliant bike for less than £1500

VFR800 Sublime V4

in comfy, sporty

chassis

15 examples of bikes that are great to ride at a bargain price – plus expert advice on what to avoid

MONTH 2014 |

Honda VFR800 Good example £1399The best version of Honda’s best bike – and now available for the price of a Chinese 125. Its iconic V4 engine, derived from the RC45, combines an addictive growl with a perfect balance of eager torque and high-revving horsepower. We found a private sale on mcnbikesforsale.com for a 1999 T-plate offered at just £1399. Mileage was low, at 19,000 miles, and the bike had some sensible extras including a double bubble screen, crash bungs, heated grips and a stainless exhaust system. Really, what more do you need?

| april 2014

Used buying guide

BY KeV raYmOnD

D ESPITE LOUDLY CLAIMING that the new Triumph brand had nothing to do with the old Triumph, and that modernity

and forward thinking were its watchwords, it didn't take Hinckley all that long to start mining the rich seam of history that comes with one of the world's iconic bike brands. The 1995 Thunderbird ticked lots of retro boxes – shiny two-tone paint, spoked wheels, big cooling fins and highly polished engine covers. It was obviously a modern retro, though, not referencing any particular older model, with water cooling for its Trident-derived triple engine and monoshock suspension for a 1990s note.

The Thunderbird sold well, but the next step forward needed a whole load of steps back. In bringing back the Bonneville name Triumph were taking a risk, and they had a choice of ways to take it. They could build something that, while thoroughly modern, name-checked the original Bonneville stylistically while not being a straight copy. That would have been the easy – and less risky – path. Or they could build something that was as close to the original in look and spirit as possible, while adding modern reliability and handling.

Happily they decided on the second approach, and were prepared to put a hell of a lot of effort into making sure it worked straight out of the box. It was four years

From 2000 to today, Triumph’s retro twin and its derivatives have combined perky performance with cool '50s looks

TriUMpH BonneviLLe

BonneviLLe vAriAnTS

■ classic looksAttention to retro detailextends to casting the fuelinjection bodies to look like traditional carburettors

Bonneville Se 2009-current

Alloy wheels, polished casings, rev counter, metal tank badge and two-tone paint

What you get…

■ 790/865cc parallel twin ■ 205kg ■ 67bhp

You might just about find a tatty early bike for this sort of money.

Anything cheaper is likely to need a lot of work cosmetically

Should get you a good, clean 2010 bike with less than 10k miles on the clock from a dealer, with warranty

from the first prototype to the first road bikes and a lot of that time was spent not adding features but paring away unnecessary extras and reducing complexity. Plus, of course, making sure that at first glance it looked as much likea 1950s Bonnie as possible. So those first buyers got spoked wheels, peashooter exhausts, a basic slab of a seat and a traditional speedo (no rev counter) on the top yoke. The headlight brackets echoed the fork shrouds on the original, the side panels and mudguards could have come off a 1950s bike, and the oil-cooled, carb-fed parallel twin engine looked, from a distance, like it could have been designed by Edward Turner, who penned the legendary Speed Twin engine of 1937, on which the 1950s Bonnie engine was based.

The new Bonnie was an immediate hit, especially in the States – appropriate really, as that's where most of the originals were sold as well. It was joined in 2003 by the slightly posher T100 (with knee pads, rev counter, two-tone paint and chromed rather than polished engine covers), as well as by two more laid-back versions aimed at the US market, the America and the Speedmaster. Sportier buyers could choose the café racer Thruxton from 2004, with a big-bore 865cc motor and clip-on bars with rear-set pegs.

Inevitably, an off-road-styled version, the Scrambler, appeared in 2006, so we could all pretend to be Steve McQueen jumping the border fence in The Great Escape. The Scrambler was 865cc, and by 2007 all models in the range had adopted the Thruxton's 865cc motor, in varying states of tune and with different firing intervals. Injection was standard by 2008, though the throttle bodies were cast to look like traditional carbs – a neat touch.

A styling makeover in 2009 for the basic Bonnie and the T100 included a change to 17in aluminium wheels – Triumph unashamedly called it a '70s makeover – but with the T100 keeping its wire wheels for the purists.

Now, 14 years on from that first Hinckley Bonnie, it's still a big seller and used examples hold their value well. So, what's it like to live with a modern classic?

£2500

£5000

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april 2014 |

Thruxton2004-current

Sportier version with 865cc engine, upswept pipes, clip-ons and rear-sets

T1002003-current

Two-tone paint, spoked wheels, rev counter, chrome casings. 865cc from 2005

Scrambler2006-current

Off-road-styled variant, 865cc, semi-knobbly tyres and upswept exhausts

Looks stunning, the torque is excellent and the power is perfect owner charles harlow

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Kit Focus

|

All of THIs costs lessoutstanding gear examined in detail

This complete set of RiDE-approved,

wallet-friendly gear costs less than £450

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april 2014 |

Top-notch gear is great if you can afford it, but you can still stay warm, dry and safe in the best low-budget kit

than THIsBY COLIN OVERLAND

I T’S ONE OF the most frequently recurring themes in correspondence reaching the RiDE inbox: where’s the good cheap gear? Really good and

really, really cheap – £100 seems to be a magic number. Above that sum, it’s not a justifiable expenditure for some readers.

We try a lot of gear here at RiDE, but our normal approach is to go in search of excellence. If, in the course of looking for the best kit, we find gear that punches

above its weight, then we regard it a very good day. It’s what our Best Buy triangles are for – to highlight gear that performs disproportionately well for the money.

But that’s not the same thing as restricting ourselves to sub-£100 clobber. So, by popular demand, that’s exactly what we’ve done this month. We’ve searched for a decent set of riding gear – jacket, trousers, gloves, helmet, boots – that could serve you well all year round, for a combined total less than £500. That's less than the price of the Hein Gericke Summit

Gore-Tex jacket that won a RiDE Best Buy award in our December 2011 test.

We’ve not tested everything available for less than £100 – far from it; there’s loads of the stuff. These are recommendations based on our experience and tips from friends and colleagues. If you think we’ve missed out something that deserves to be here, let us know: ride@ride.co.uk.

What else you’ll needYou’ve broken the back of your riding gear requirements by getting a decent textile suit, a helmet, and all-year boots and gloves. But this isn’t all you need: you’ll also need a neck tube, decent socks, base layers, and potentially extra warmth from more layers or even electric kit. But before you go spending another £100 or more on that lot, check what you already have at home – plenty of undergarments designed for skiing, cycling, walking, sailing and all those other activities you sign up for in a burst of short-lived enthusiasm are

more than capable of doing the job. The aim is to have a wicking layer

next to the skin, to regulate your temperature and stop you getting sweaty, and to use a neck tube to plug the gap at the top of your jacket, and to provide extra comfort.

The main job of the outer layer – the bespoke biking gear – is to fend off the rain and the wind, and to offer some protection in a crash; at this price level, don’t expect luxury. But if you can lay your hands on a merino wool base layer, some hiking socks and a Buff, you can transform the experience.

choosing and usingHowever much you’re spending, you owe it to yourself to take the time to shop around and make sure everything you buy fits you properly. Not fits you when it’s worn over your civvies standing up in a bike shop, but fits you when it’s worn on a bike, in combination with the rest of your riding gear. The best gloves in the world are no use if they stop you doing up your jacket at the cuffs. And a jacket that rides up and stops you turning your head to look over your shoulder could kill you. So a trip to your nearest good gear shop is well worthwhile – you quickly get a realistic idea of what’s available for your budget, and you can also cast an eye over some plusher kit that you might want to upgrade to when finances permit.

Where's the good cheap gear? Above £100 isn't justifiable for some readers

■ Hein Gericke summitGore-Tex jacket £520“Well thought through, well made andvery comfortable,” we said. Great kit,but at £500 it's beyond many budgets

Don’t judge pieces of kit in isolation, but consider

them part of a system

What you wear beneathyour riding gear is just ascrucial to keep you warm

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THE VOSGES:

France’s secret jewelFor an easy introduction to mountain riding, the scenic and welcoming Vosges cannot be beaten

B LUE SKIES, GREEN trees and perfect grey tarmac, coiling round another hairpin, white and yellow flowers nodding in

the grass. Not that I have much time for a nature study… Hustling the Triumph Explorer up the Col du Ballon in the Vosges requires a fair bit of concentration, but this is one of those perfect moments that demands a little peripheral attention. I want to commit it to memory, to bring a smile to my face when recalling it on darker, winterier days.

I remember my first visit to the Vosges very clearly. It was entirely accidental. I was bumbling around Europe with my mate Gil, leaving Germany across the Rhine on a dull, straight road. Ahead rose a wall of wooded hills crowned directly in front of us with the spiky silhouette of a castle that could have come from a Grimm’s fairy tale.

“Let’s stay there,” I’d shouted. We couldn’t stay in the castle itself but we ended up camping more or less in its shadow, then spent the next three days exploring the area, enjoying brilliant roads and cheap beer… without really ever knowing where we were.

For a long time, that’s been part of the appeal of the Vosges. Plenty of people don’t know where they are – or even that they’re there. The riding charms of the Alps, the Pyrenees and the Dolomites were well

Destination The Vosges, France From Calais 350 miles■ REASONS TO GO ✓ Mountains ✓ Forests✓ Quality food ✓ Quiet roads

■ WATCH OUT FOR✗ Busy at weekends ✗

Police

presence (again, at the weekends)

Paris

London

Dijon

Reims

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THELONGWEEKEND

Great mountains just a péage day (or a pleasant day-and-a-half on N and D roads) from Calais

BY SIMON WEIR

The Vosges

Travel

PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARK MANNING

IN THIS MONTH'S TRAVEL SECTION■ Travel Q&A 87How to be ready for the worst

■ Travellers' tales 88Mountains, deserts and cities in South America

■ Tankbag tour guide 89A great day's riding around Okehampton, Devon

Rothenbach on the Route des Cretes in the Vosges:

open, flowing and fabulous. All the roads are this good

Is this Britain’s best all-rounder?

The RiDE road test

| APRIL 2014

THE RISE OF the adventure bike has coincided with the decline of the sportsbike and the sports tourer. Who’d want a bike that

would give you back ache and imperil your licence, when you could have just as much fun on an easy-to-ride upright bike that looks as rugged and macho as a tank?

But some riders still don’t want adventure bikes – and while other sports tourers have been in retreat, one machine has bucked the trend: Kawasaki’s Z1000SX. Introduced in 2011, it became the Japanese firm’s biggest seller in the UK. Revamped for 2014, the purpose-built 1043cc inline four has been lightly modified to make 4bhp more, with variable power modes, three-stage traction control, a new shock and stronger brakes with smarter ABS.

The ergonomics have also been adjusted, with a more comfortable seat and new mirrors, while the luggage system has been totally redesigned so it’s properly integrated. The bodywork has been restyled, with additional intakes and a new resonator plate in the airbox to give it a real intake howl.

In other words, the SX has been updated to do everything the original did a little bit better, in a sharper, sleeker package.

Kawasaki's Z1000SX Tourer proves that you don't need a big adventure bike for all-round ability

The ultimateweekend rideSome bikes feel great on one road but then suck on another.

That’s usually about the chassis – too stiffly sprung and unforgiving, or underdamped and soggily seasick-making. What’s so impressive about the Z1000SX is that it feels so good everywhere…

True, it’s most at home on smooth and flowing roads – where you can take a long look deep into each turn and power through. A firm twist of the throttle will unleash 140bhp and driving hard through second gear, catching a crest, the front wheel tries pointing at the only cloud in

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APRIL 2014 |

PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHIPPY WOOD

KAWASAKI Z1000SX■ 1043cc ■ inline four ■ 231kg ■ 140bhp ■ ABS ■ £10,249

THE TEST

The ultimateweekend ride

The RiDE fuel economy TT

Motorway miles

The daily commute

A fixed 40-mile circuit of dual carriageway,

A-road, B-road, town and villages, ridden to the RoSPA test standard to produce consistent, comparable fuel-consumption figures.

A solid two hours of multi-lane drudgery,

with only two roundabouts to break it up. Just how comfortable is that seat? Which bit of the rider aches first? Does the tank have the range?

Man, luggage, house, office… and back. And

again. And again. When does it stop being a ride and become a chore? What niggle drives you mad when dealing with it every single day?

How do you find out what a new bike is really like to ride? Put it under the microscope of our painstakingly structured series of riding tests, designed to tease out flaws and highlight strengths in all situations.

A four-hour loop of brilliant roads we know

like the back of our hands. We won't be surprised by how good they are: will we be surprised by how well the bike performs on them?

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FIRST RIDES BMW R1200GSA + R nineT + R1200RT

new LOOK

DIY SECTION BANISH FUELLING GREMLINS TO REVITALISE YOUR BIKE + WINTER PROJECTS

FULL UK ROAD TEST

KawasakiZ1000SXOur toughest ever test: touring,

commuting, two-up, B-roads

CBR600, ZX-6R, VFR800, BANDIT...

Finding, buying and riding 2014's

best-value used motorcycles

PLUS Great kit for under £100

15 BRILLIANT

£1500 BARGAINS

TRAVEL SECTION

HIDDEN FRANCEDodge the crowds on our awesome long weekendPLUS Brilliant Devon day trip

April 2014 £4.10

A '97 VTR for £1499? We show you how

IN-DEPTH USED GUIDE

TRIUMPH BONNEVILLE

How to buy today's coolest retro from £4k

Finding, buying and riding 2014's

£1500BARGAINS

IN-DEPTH USED GUIDE

TRIUMPHBONNEVILLE

new

new

new

new

Want to get the most out of biking?

Buy a brilliant bike for less than £1500 Get kitted out from head to toe for less than £500 Discover an amazing long weekend in France

Plus An in-depth guide to buying a used Triumph Bonneville, fuel injection overhauls made easy, and the Kawasaki Z1000SX road tested.

In the April issue

Now with more new bikes, more used bike buying advice, more kit tests, more

travel and more DIY, RiDE is full of big-value ideas for getting more from your bike.